Firstly, I just wanted to thank those that sent comments, messages and tweets about my birthday. It’s nice to have so many kind wishes. I had a lovely day with my family and got to relax, read a couple of interior magazines and then have Pizza Express for dinner. How was your weekend? I hope it was all you hoped and more.
Lately, I’ve been reading up on successful Interior Designers. I like to find out about how they came into the industry and whether they have a particular aesthetic that I can identify with. Of course, there are many talented and successful interior designers out there, however I’m finding that I don’t necessarily appeal to the work of all of them. The more I look, the more I’m drawn to the work of particular designers and their styles (it’s only natural I suppose).
One such designer, whose work I’ve been keen on is Rose Uniake. She started out as an antiques dealer and opened up an antiques store in Pimlico. One day a client of the store asked her to decorate their home and the rest is history.
You can see her passion for antiques in the interiors she designs. She has a wonderfully toned down style using primarily natural, textured materials such as Wood, Marble and Linen. Her designs mix the serenity of minimalism with the opulence of glamour through the use of carefully selected antiques against a muted and natural colour palette. I like that she has a distinct aesthetic (examples in the 2 homes shown below) and yet has the ability to translate that into different forms. For example, her own home is a classic style with a muted colour palette, and then her clients home is still muted but more contemporary and agressive (black and white) but still with her antique trademark.
If you want to see more of her work, you can look up her website here.
What do you think? Do you like her style? This is the first post in the series of Designer Profiles. I will be back next week with an Interior Style. Have a lovely day. xD
Image Source: nytimes.com, RoseUniake.com
Diary of an Interior Novice 
May 13th, 2013 at 1:03 pm
belated happy birthday!
a very nice profile. i adore her work too – she manages the blend of old and new with such a delicate hand. it’s glamorous, but still simple. i could look at those images for hours! 🙂
May 13th, 2013 at 11:15 pm
Thanks Jane, So glad you like her work too. It’s so restrained and lovely isn’t it? xD
May 13th, 2013 at 2:21 pm
ah, glad you’ve happened across her work… it’s also some of my favourite… the materials she uses, the restraint i covet & those beautiful, beautiful pieces in her store which i tried to squeeze into quite a few of my klc projects (as i could sadly never afford them in real life)… nice post!
May 13th, 2013 at 11:18 pm
Hi Sue, I’ve never been in her store but I can imagine there would be many numbers on the price tags! Good idea about the KLC projects, maybe one day we’ll get a big enough commission to include some of her antiques huh? One can only dream. xD
May 13th, 2013 at 11:33 pm
nothing wrong with dreaming! 😉
May 13th, 2013 at 7:10 pm
I don’t know Rose, so thank you for the introduction.
Her style is wonderfully sophisticated and although a little too toned down for my liking I can really appreciate the finess with which she decorates.
Of course, it’s till too interior designed for me but hey, nice work.
Great new series. Glad you had a fab Birthday. Shame you had to miss the meetup x
May 13th, 2013 at 11:20 pm
Hi Tina, I hope you had a good weekend. I hope that I can meet up with you at the next meet up. Thanks for the feedback and glad that you like the new series. xD
May 13th, 2013 at 7:53 pm
Her style is a little too classy and glamourous for my taste – like Tina, I can see she is talented, but it’s just not me… BUT I love that new series and can’t wait to learn more about interior designers. Your blog is a such a great source! You should write a book for interior novices.
May 13th, 2013 at 11:22 pm
Hi Lena, so nice to hear from you :). Lol – I’m not too sure about the book but I’m glad that you like the new series. I hope you are well. xD
May 14th, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Agree with Lena – you should write a book for novices. 100%
May 16th, 2013 at 9:46 am
Thanks guys – so appreciate the support. I’m a bit speechless. xD
May 14th, 2013 at 8:40 pm
I’m so sorry to be late! Happy belated birthday Doris. Hope you had a wonderful day. Hopefully see you in our next meet up. Love the old meet new decor. That living room is beautiful with its large windows and high ceilings – modern furniture but retaining the period features – love it. x
May 15th, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Thanks Geraldine, I love that living room too. Those townhouses just provide the most magnificent backdrop for her interiors. Looking forward to meeting you soon. xD
May 14th, 2013 at 8:57 pm
The last two images are my favourite:old&new mix always appeals to me.
Bests
Mx
May 15th, 2013 at 11:14 pm
Old and new is such a great style – it’s all about getting the pieces and balance right. I could look at those images all day. xD
May 20th, 2013 at 10:28 am
I love the living room and the way she included that plant there. The room look so warm with it there. And those windows there, wow.. That’s surely an amazing house. Thanks for introducing this Minimalism & Glamour style, it’s inspiring. It makes me want to redecorate!
May 20th, 2013 at 10:39 pm
Hi Elli, Thank you for the visit and posting a comment. I’m glad you like Rose Uniakes style and in regards to decorating, I always say “go for it”!
May 20th, 2013 at 11:22 pm
Oh I love it all. I haven’t seen her work before, thank you for sharing it, she does use contrast very well and has great restraint too. A great write up – you describe her style perfectly. I love it ! Jo x
May 21st, 2013 at 9:15 pm
Hi Jo, Thank you for your lovely comments. I’m glad you like Roses work as much as I do. xD